Friday, December 9

The Penny War!

Today was the last day of a week of the Penny War.

I have a strategy that would blow your mind.  I am not going to tell you for fear it will leak to my co-workers.  But it was approved by the principal so not cheating. 
Here are some things I will share with you, just to give you a glimpse:
  • I stand out in the hall by my jar and hand out m&m's to kids.  Sometimes it will be one m&m to every kid that passes.  Sometimes to kids that put pennies in my jar.  Even though they should put pennies in their OWN jars :)
  • I remind the kids to "bomb" (put silver coins) in the #1 teacher's jar (which was never me, I lay low till the last day)
  • AND I have pep talks with my own kids at least once a day, giving them updates to my strategy for that day or just telling them how exciting it all is.  We've become closer from this penny war. 
Last year I won the trophy for making the most MONEY, which means I got bombed more than I had pennies and dollars.  But this year I wanted to win the trophy for most POINTS (and I did.) So I made sure I didn't make any enemies with the other kids at school.  I wanted everyone to be on my side.  Thus, I handed out m&m's to all and got them to bomb the right classes.
My class raised almost $300...that is almost $10 a kid!  They caught my competitive, over-zealous obsession.  With constant reminders to them (and mostly myself) that this money is for families in need, we kept bringing in the dough.  It was a fun week to be a teacher and take part in this thrilling game.  Even if we hadn't won a trophy or the pizza party that comes with it, we have amazing memories and the fun of knowing we were bringing Christmas to families in need.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

We've just started a penny way this week. My classes have always won any type of drive we have because of the motivation and reminders we give each other. This time though the rest of the school (teachers and students) seem to be fed up with us winning, so they are plotting to bomb us with silver. Would you be willing to share your plan with an IN teacher?